MilkyWay the MixolydianWay

If, like me, you were struck by its sounding unlike (almost) any other piece of pop music you’ve ever heard, here’s why. Most of it is in the Mixolydian mode, the B-flat Mixolydian to be specific, with the pre-chorus and chorus in the B-flat Aeolian mode, which shares the same dominant tone, as you can tell from the name. Most Western pop music is in the major scale (equivalent to the Ionian mode) or the minor scale (almost equivalent to the Aeolian mode).

(Though I’m not an expert at music theory, so please correct me if I’m wrong.)

So this is like the awesomest thing ever. Hello! Project has transcended the average musical composition (not that it hasn’t already done so previously, but this is further confirmation … for the disbelievers).

Anyway, I’ll resume the Countdown to End All Countdowns soon (it’s been a while, hasn’t it?), and I also promise to post a detailed analysis of the wave physics of “Resonant Blue” … I’m entirely convinced that Tsunku is a closet physics geek but would like to see the alternate edition PV before I put up anything conclusive.

(Hmm… in light of recent debates about the role of “quality of music” in H!P blogging, I think this is my first time actually writing about the quality of Hello! Project music, and not some tangential topic.)